TWO undefeateds go down in RND 1!!!

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Unreal! Both on the road in two of the toughest places to play in all of FCS! Props to Wofford, and as for Eastern... I'm in disbelief... I knew we would be tough and we had a shot to win it, but the thought that we would blow MSU out of the water never even crossed my mind! Nichols and Dale Morris are forces to be reckoned with! xrotatehx xrotatehx

GO EAGLES!xbowx

[GolfingGriz]

I think this is because of regionalization. No way should EWU and Wofford be playing seeds in the first round. But it is what it is and good luck to both, hopefully they will meet in the semis and if the game is in Cheney I might have to make the trip over.

[FCS Preview]

I think this is because of regionalization. No way should EWU and Wofford be playing seeds in the first round. But it is what it is and good luck to both, hopefully they will meet in the semis and if the game is in Cheney I might have to make the trip over.

Get rid of regionalization, and seed the teams, you'd have (going strictly by Sports Network Poll): UNI-Fordham, Montana-EIU, McNeese-UNH, SIU-EWU, App St-Del, Richmond-JMU, Mass-Wofford, EKU-Del State

So EWU is still playing a seed.
Richmond-JMU can't happen in the first round, so probably Richmond-Del State, JMU-EKU

[Screamin_Eagle174]

I think this is because of regionalization. No way should EWU and Wofford be playing seeds in the first round. But it is what it is and good luck to both, hopefully they will meet in the semis and if the game is in Cheney I might have to make the trip over.

I hope that happens... That would be amazing to have the kind of fan support the Griz have to come to Cheney and root for the Eags. For right now though we need to focus on going to Appy and beating the two time defending national champs... no easy task!

[Proud Griz Man]

Congratulations Eastern Washington!!!

Way to do us (BSC) proud!

[skinny_uncle]

The Gateway seeds survive.
The M & M seeds fall.
xnodx

[saccat]

GOOD JOB EWU. Show the rest of the world that the Big Sky is much more than the Frizz.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Who says Big Fluffy Eagles can't be dangerous? :D

[Herdman]

The Gateway seeds survive.
The M & M seeds fall.
xnodxYeah, nice game today SIU. That's the way you take care of business. You had to have the quietest win of the day. I'll bet folks are over looking you and I hope you can take advantage of that next week.

[skinny_uncle]

Yeah, nice game today SIU. That's the way you take care of business. You had to have the quietest win of the day. I'll bet folks are over looking you and I hope you can take advantage of that next week.
UM ass coming to town. I can hardly wait.

[GreatAppSt]

UM Fansxbandwagonx EWU travel bus.

[appfan2008]

congrats to both ewu and wofford!

[GtFllsGriz]

Congratulations to the Eagles. I warned you all that the Eagles were hot, hot, hot! I'm thrilled for the Eagles and the opportunity to show everyone that there are other teams in the BSC that can get it done. I really felt like the Eagles were playing better than the Griz at the end of the year. The defense and Carpenter saved us all year. It was only a matter of time that field goals could not get it done.

Man, the BSC is going to be a shoot out next year and I am afraid that the Griz will still be looking for an offense.

[Grizalltheway]

UM Fansxbandwagonx EWU travel bus.

I'm on board baby! :D

[mvemjsunpx]

Congratulations to the Eagles. I warned you all that the Eagles were hot, hot, hot! I'm thrilled for the Eagles and the opportunity to show everyone that there are other teams in the BSC that can get it done. I really felt like the Eagles were playing better than the Griz at the end of the year. The defense and Carpenter saved us all year. It was only a matter of time that field goals could not get it done.

Man, the BSC is going to be a shoot out next year and I am afraid that the Griz will still be looking for an offense.

The defense certainly didn't save the Griz today. I'm still not sure Kraig Paulson knows Wofford runs the option.

The offense did alright considering Wofford played their best defensive game of the year. The O-line had big troubles early in the game, but they had picked it up a bit by the end. However, we sputtered a couple times too many & that false start at the 1 just killed us. The O did a nice job of doing what they had to do & setting up the FG at the end, though.

[GolfingGriz]

The defense certainly didn't save the Griz today. I'm still not sure Kraig Paulson knows Wofford runs the option.

The offense did alright considering Wofford played their best defensive game of the year. The O-line had big troubles early in the game, but they had picked it up a bit by the end. However, we sputtered a couple times too many & that false start at the 1 just killed us. The O did a nice job of doing what they had to do & setting up the FG at the end, though.

If your blaming the loss on the defense you know nothing about football. Holding that offense to 23 points was a job well done by the D. Ask Appy if they would have liked to hold them to 23.

[mvemjsunpx]

If your blaming the loss on the defense you know nothing about football. Holding that offense to 23 points was a job well done by the D. Ask Appy if they would have liked to hold them to 23.

I was at the game, I saw what happened. Just looking at points allowed is looking at this way too simplistically.

We did not seem to gameplan for the option at all. We're sitting in deep zone pass defense with corners 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. As a result, Collier/Johnson were able to gain 5 yards outside before even being touched every time. The linebackers weren't fast enough to catch them & the DB's were placed nowhere near the line to stop them for shorter gains. The Griz D also sold out on the FB-dive on most every triple option play. The outside running was wide open all day. You need to be aggressive to stop the option - get penetration to disrupt the QB's running lanes - & the Griz defense was as passive as they could possibly be. The few times the Griz blitzed, it was effective, but they rarely did it. If Wofford hadn't chosen to throw at all today (2 INT's), they would have won by more.

They ran on us at will. Our run defense has shut down teams like this in the past. Today, we didn't have a clue. Wofford played their best game of the year, but if we'd gameplanned better on defense, we still would have won, probably comfortably.

[JayJ79]

Get rid of regionalization, and seed the teams, you'd have (going strictly by Sports Network Poll): UNI-Fordham, Montana-EIU, McNeese-UNH, SIU-EWU, App St-Del, Richmond-JMU, Mass-Wofford, EKU-Del State

So EWU is still playing a seed.
Richmond-JMU can't happen in the first round, so probably Richmond-Del State, JMU-EKU

UNH probably would have thwapped McNeese as well. Unless weather played a factor (dunno how it was down there)

[Green26]

Mvemj..., I can't tell you how stupid this comment of yours is:

"I was at the game, I saw what happened. Just looking at points allowed is looking at this way too simplistically. We did not seem to gameplan for the option at all. We're sitting in deep zone pass defense with corners 10 yards off the line of scrimmage."

Montana played cover 1, or man coverage, almost every play the whole game. Montana did not play zone. The corners were never 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. The safeties played at 10 yards.

[mvemjsunpx]

Mvemj..., I can't tell you how stupid this comment of yours is:

"I was at the game, I saw what happened. Just looking at points allowed is looking at this way too simplistically. We did not seem to gameplan for the option at all. We're sitting in deep zone pass defense with corners 10 yards off the line of scrimmage."

Montana played cover 1, or man coverage, almost every play the whole game. Montana did not play zone. The corners were never 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. The safeties played at 10 yards.

If you don't think the corners were often way back from the line, you weren't at the game. 10 yards was an exaggeration, but they were noticeably far back many times (that weren't long yardage situations). They did come up & play tight some of the time, but their receivers had our DB's blocked way past the line without much effort the vast majority of the time.

And the Griz certainly weren't aggressive enough, there's no doubt about that.

[McNeese_beat]

Unreal! Both on the road in two of the toughest places to play in all of FCS! Props to Wofford, and as for Eastern... I'm in disbelief... I knew we would be tough and we had a shot to win it, but the thought that we would blow MSU out of the water never even crossed my mind! Nichols and Dale Morris are forces to be reckoned with! xrotatehx xrotatehx

GO EAGLES!xbowx

You guys had a heckuva team. With all four receivers healthy, it makes it hard to cover everybody and your QB reads things well enough to pick out the open guy. If McNeese blitzed, he found the open guy. If they were in zone, he knew exactly where the spot was. If they were in man, you'd just run the short crossing route and maybe set a pick (no complaining here...everybody does it) and get the guy open.

The key is you have four senior offensive linemen. As important as it is for the QB to make reads, the linemen also have to read the defense to pick up the proper man on the various blitzes. McNeese brought blitzes your guys probably didn't see on film, yet your line handled it well.

Of course, the reason McNeese blitzed so much is they didn't have their pass-rusher, Smith, who was out with a high ankle sprain. McNeese hasn't had to blitz all year. They just sat back in cover 2 and let Smith wreak havoc (Smith had 10.5 sacks and 22 TFLs) while the other three D-linemen got theirs because everybody was so focused on blocking Smith. Tonight, with no Smith, everybody else got blocked better and McNeese had to blitz more to make up for what they were missing.

But you know what they say about ifs and buts...

Defensively, you guys are solid. Nothing spectacular. Your ends are good, particularly Peach. On the back end you're ok. LBs are ok. I think McNeese could have done more offensively but they blew a couple of red zone chances and once they fell way behind and got out of what they do, it was over.

If you guys execute and don't get flustered, I don't think anybody will stop your offense. It's as good as I've seen, at least in the last 4-5 years. Defense is good enough to get it done, so long as they aren't asked to win a 10-7 game.
xthumbsupx

[McNeese_beat]

Get rid of regionalization, and seed the teams, you'd have (going strictly by Sports Network Poll): UNI-Fordham, Montana-EIU, McNeese-UNH, SIU-EWU, App St-Del, Richmond-JMU, Mass-Wofford, EKU-Del State

So EWU is still playing a seed.
Richmond-JMU can't happen in the first round, so probably Richmond-Del State, JMU-EKU

Going by the GPIs you'd have had Fordham at UNI, Eastern Illinois at McNeese, Delaware State at SIU, Eastern Washington at UMass, Eastern Kentucky at App State, New Hampshire at Richmond, Wofford at Montana, and Delaware at James Madison.

Of course, the flaw is that Montana would be the No. 7 seed using the GPI, and we all know Montana wound up being the No. 3 seed so the committee would not have seeded them consistent with the GPI rating.

[GolfingGriz]

If you don't think the corners were often way back from the line, you weren't at the game. 10 yards was an exaggeration, but they were noticeably far back many times (that weren't long yardage situations). They did come up & play tight some of the time, but their receivers had our DB's blocked way past the line without much effort the vast majority of the time.

And the Griz certainly weren't aggressive enough, there's no doubt about that.

If you thought the corners job was to stop the option you weren't at the game. Wofford's receivers run routes on every play. They probably wont get the ball but that 2 point conversion wasnt the first time that the RB had a run/pass option. Stopping the option is all about assignment football and the griz D did enough to win today, not enough to guarentee victory like they usually do, but enough to win.

[mvemjsunpx]

If you thought the corners job was to stop the option you weren't at the game. Wofford's receivers run routes on every play. They probably wont get the ball but that 2 point conversion wasnt the first time that the RB had a run/pass option. Stopping the option is all about assignment football and the griz D did enough to win today, not enough to guarentee victory like they usually do, but enough to win.

A corner can tell when a receiver is trying to block him or running a route. And when I saw, the receivers had our DB's solidly blocked most of the time. Also, corners are always important in run defense, regardless of the offense. The biggest way to bust an outside run is for the corner to get by the WR's block. The corners did go back to cover the WR's when they ran routes, as they're obviously supposed to, but the defensive scheme today seemingly required the DB's to stop the outside run.

Wofford only scored 23 because they stupidly turned it over & they didn't get any big plays. They didn't need any big plays, they chewed up 5-6 yards virtually every time they carried the ball. Most frustrating was that they successfully did the same thing over & over again (outside option). The Griz sold out to pinch the middle and stop the fullback while the outside rushing lanes were wide open. I hope the DB's were supposed to stop the run, because they were the only defenders on the outside most of the time. Wofford went a stellar 62% (8/13) on 3rd. down & 67% (2/3) on 4th. down. They also dominated time-of-possession in the 4th. quarter, when the Griz O was moving the ball pretty well. We just couldn't get them off the field.

The Griz offense went a very good, but second best today, 50% (8/16) on 3rd. down. They didn't move the ball after the turnovers, which was disappointing, but it's not like Wofford gave us the ball in their redzone or something, either. The field position for Montana after the turnovers wasn't that different than most of the non-turnover drives (close to midfield), it's just that those happened to be the ones where the O didn't move the ball. To say the offense lost the game & the defense played great is blatantly false (I don't think you specifically said that, but other Griz fans on this board have). I'm not saying the offense played great, but they played better than they did in most games this year given how our opponent played today.

Kraig Paulson's done a good job for the last 3 years at DC, much better than in his first stint in 1998-99. I'm certainly not advocating anything drastic like firing him (though he may end up being gone anyway, but that's an entirely different story). Paulson definitely dropped the ball in his gameplan & adjustments today, however.

[FCS Preview]

Going by the GPIs you'd have had Fordham at UNI, Eastern Illinois at McNeese, Delaware State at SIU, Eastern Washington at UMass, Eastern Kentucky at App State, New Hampshire at Richmond, Wofford at Montana, and Delaware at James Madison.

Of course, the flaw is that Montana would be the No. 7 seed using the GPI, and we all know Montana wound up being the No. 3 seed so the committee would not have seeded them consistent with the GPI rating.

And EWU still playing a seed...and Wofford still playing Montana. xlolx

[phillyAPP]

I was at the game, I saw what happened. Just looking at points allowed is looking at this way too simplistically.

We did not seem to gameplan for the option at all. We're sitting in deep zone pass defense with corners 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. As a result, Collier/Johnson were able to gain 5 yards outside before even being touched every time. The linebackers weren't fast enough to catch them & the DB's were placed nowhere near the line to stop them for shorter gains. The Griz D also sold out on the FB-dive on most every triple option play. The outside running was wide open all day. You need to be aggressive to stop the option - get penetration to disrupt the QB's running lanes - & the Griz defense was as passive as they could possibly be. The few times the Griz blitzed, it was effective, but they rarely did it. If Wofford hadn't chosen to throw at all today (2 INT's), they would have won by more.

They ran on us at will. Our run defense has shut down teams like this in the past. Today, we didn't have a clue. Wofford played their best game of the year, but if we'd gameplanned better on defense, we still would have won, probably comfortably.


Thats the way Wofford always plays. They are a VERY good team that can win AGS. I have lived through it the past 3-4 years. WOFFORD is for real,well coached, and a team that executes. It happens every week for Wofford.

[McNeese_beat]

And EWU still playing a seed...and Wofford still playing Montana. xlolx

Well, everybody is seeded if you seed 1-16...but there is more rewarding teams for being a seed. The way it's currently done would be analagous to Duke playing Georgetown in the first round of the basketball tournament because D.C. is close enough to Raleigh-Durham...and meanwhile Montana State is playing Wyoming...

Makes for a heckuva first round game, but...

[LehighFan11]

Get rid of regionalization, and seed the teams, you'd have (going strictly by Sports Network Poll): UNI-Fordham, Montana-EIU, McNeese-UNH, SIU-EWU, App St-Del, Richmond-JMU, Mass-Wofford, EKU-Del State

So EWU is still playing a seed.
Richmond-JMU can't happen in the first round, so probably Richmond-Del State, JMU-EKU

forget about regionalization as an excuse. #2 and #3 undefeated teams should win at home no matter who they play. McNeese still would of get pounded by UNH. It comes down to Montana and McNeese were overhyped and got it handed to them.

[Col Hogan]

Yeah, nice game today SIU. That's the way you take care of business. You had to have the quietest win of the day. I'll bet folks are over looking you and I hope you can take advantage of that next week.

Trust me...UMass will not overlook any team...not the way Coach Brown operates, and he won't let them team do it either...

[uofmman1122]

forget about regionalization as an excuse. #2 and #3 undefeated teams should win at home no matter who they play. McNeese still would of get pounded by UNH. It comes down to Montana and McNeese were overhyped and got it handed to them.I don't know how you can call losing on a last-second field goal to an outstanding team that played it's heart out all game grounds for being "over-hyped."

If I weren't a fan of either team, I'd say it was one the best college football games I've ever seen. But since I am...xbawlingx

[McNeese75]

forget about regionalization as an excuse. #2 and #3 undefeated teams should win at home no matter who they play. McNeese still would of get pounded by UNH. It comes down to Montana and McNeese were overhyped and got it handed to them.

Ummmm and where was your team yesterday?

Ranting that UNH would pound anyone is just your frickin opinion xcoffeex

The mighty Santos is sitting home next week along with 7 other teams.

[McNeese_beat]

forget about regionalization as an excuse. #2 and #3 undefeated teams should win at home no matter who they play. McNeese still would of get pounded by UNH. It comes down to Montana and McNeese were overhyped and got it handed to them.

Regionalism would be an excuse if it was brought up after the game. In this case, it was brought up well before the game. And it's a completely valid argument. If it's not, please explain why it's not.

[mvemjsunpx]

Thats the way Wofford always plays. They are a VERY good team that can win AGS. I have lived through it the past 3-4 years. WOFFORD is for real,well coached, and a team that executes. It happens every week for Wofford.


I never said Wofford wasn't for real or well coached. That was obvious yesterday. However, the Griz were the more talented team & had shown an outstanding run defense all year. We were outcoached & outplayed on that side of the ball yesterday & the defense looked woefully unprepared. Wofford's playcalling yesterday was actually rather predictable (FB dive on 1st. down, outside option on 2nd. down most of the time), but we didn't seem to have a clue how to stop it.

[eaglesrthe1]

Seems that SOS, instead of gaudy records, might prepare a team to better handle the quality that will be seen in the playoffs.

[blueballs]

Seems that SOS, instead of gaudy records, might prepare a team to better handle the quality that will be seen in the playoffs.

... and might go a long way towards determining who is really worthy of being included in the 16 team field.

[matfu]

I was at the game, I saw what happened. Just looking at points allowed is looking at this way too simplistically.

We did not seem to gameplan for the option at all. We're sitting in deep zone pass defense with corners 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. As a result, Collier/Johnson were able to gain 5 yards outside before even being touched every time. The linebackers weren't fast enough to catch them & the DB's were placed nowhere near the line to stop them for shorter gains. The Griz D also sold out on the FB-dive on most every triple option play. The outside running was wide open all day. You need to be aggressive to stop the option - get penetration to disrupt the QB's running lanes - & the Griz defense was as passive as they could possibly be. The few times the Griz blitzed, it was effective, but they rarely did it. If Wofford hadn't chosen to throw at all today (2 INT's), they would have won by more.

They ran on us at will. Our run defense has shut down teams like this in the past. Today, we didn't have a clue. Wofford played their best game of the year, but if we'd gameplanned better on defense, we still would have won, probably comfortably.

maybe mike ayers siad this was wofford's best game of the year and i missed it....BUT i watched the entire game. i would say their best game of the year by far was against furman. their offensive coordinator after the game said in print that they ran their offense to perfection...that every play they called was the right play at the right time. plus against furman they did not lose a single turnover (they recovered their own fimble 5 times). so i don't think it was their best game. now, considering where they played, and the cold weather, and it being the playoffs, i have no doubt it was their best win.